2016 US General Elections: Latest Polls

The 58th United States presidential election that is scheduled for November 8, 2016, will determine 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States. The candidates were selected during the primary elections held between February and June 2016. The Republican Party nominated Donald Trump, a businessman and reality television actor with no experience as an elected political official. The Democratic Party nominated Hillary Clinton, whose former public positions include US Secretary of State, US Senator (NY), and First Lady of the United States.

Polls out this week report odds of 84 percent that Hillary Clinton will win the US election, based on a popular vote of 45.5 percent for the democratic ticket (Hillary Clinton) and 41.7 percent for the Republican ticket (Donald Trump), leaving no chance for third party or independent candidates—such as Gary Johnson, the nominee from Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party—to win the election. The latest polls show that only 4-8 percent of respondents support the third and green party candidates.

Some will point out that popular election results do not always align with electoral election results, and it is the latter that will determine the next president of the United States. True enough. A review of the history of US presidential elections reveals that in four elections—1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000—the elected president actually lost the popular vote. It is also true that analysis of political party platform length favors Donald Trump to win the election. These points aside, election onlookers of all political stripes surely agree that this US presidential election, these polling figures, are breaking with political tradition and will bring new character to US election data to consume data scientists, historians, and other election spectators alike for years to come.